If your flight has been cancelled or delayed in the last six years (or five in Scotland) you could still be eligible for compensation exceeding £500, explains Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert website
Time seems to stand painfully still when your flight gets delayed – but you could be entitled to more than £500 in compensation. Many Brits aren’t aware of their rights when it comes to delayed or cancelled flights, which have the potential to completely ruin your holiday and leave your little ones whining ‘are we there yet?’.
If your flight is cancelled less than 14 days before your departure date, was scheduled to fly in the past six years (or five in Scotland), and the rescheduled flight departed earlier or arrived at your destination later than scheduled – you could be eligible for compensation. However, the reason for the cancellation also has to be the airline’s fault. According to Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Experts, bad weather is often not classed as the airline’s fault – meaning if your journey was cancelled due to the recent Storm Éowyn and Storm Herminia, you probably aren’t eligible for the £520 payment.
FYI: This only applies to flights regulated by UK or EU rules, which includes any flight leaving a UK/EU airport and any UK or EU airline arriving at a UK/EU airport.
If the pilot was ill and not replaced, or the pilot and their crew were late, you should be eligible for compensation. Flights cancelled due to under-booking, because airline staff went on strike, or technical problems caused by something routine like general wear and tear, also fall under the airline’s responsibility. However, political problems, security or safety issues and air traffic management decisions mean you’ll likely not be offered compensation.
Even if you’re not eligible for compensation, a cancelled flight means you should be offered either a refund for the journey or an alternative flight at the ‘earliest opportunity’. “It is our view that passengers should be re-routed on the same day as their original flight and via the same route, but where this is not possible, their airline should instead identify alternative re-routing options which minimise the disruption to the journey plans of affected passengers,” explains the Civil Aviation Authority. “This could include travel with a different airline.”
The level of compensation you can claim for a cancelled flight depends on the alternative route you’re offered and the length of your journey. For example, if you leave two or more hours earlier than the original flight and land no more than two hours later than originally planned, and your flight is shorter than 1,500km – you’ll only be offered £110 in compensation. However, if you’re on a journey of 3,500km and your alternative plane arrives four hours later than your original flight – you’ll be eligible for the full £520 compensation. You can check out MSE’s full table of compensation levels here.
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If your flight arrives at your destination more than three hours later than scheduled, was scheduled in the past six years (or five in Scotland) and the delay was the airline’s fault (see above criteria) – you could also be eligible for compensation. Passengers delayed by three hours on a flight up to 1,500km will be eligible for £220 while those delayed three hours on a journey spanning 1,500km to 3,500km are entitled to £350.
If you’re delayed by three-four hours on a flight exceeding 3,500km, you can claim back £260, while being delayed over for hours will mean you’re eligible for the maximum compensation of £520. Remember, this is per-person, so is well worth doing if you’re travelling as a family.
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